The changing face of Russian beauty

Exhibitions exploring and, at times, tearing apart perceived ideas of physical beauty are currently tucked away in several Moscow galleries.

Plump or muscular, feminine or masculine,
posh or austere, classically flattering or downright grotesque, the one thing
that Russian art exhibits on beauty seem to agree on is that there is no single
definition of beauty in the country’s modern-day society.

Exhibitions exploring and, at times,
tearing apart perceived ideas of physical beauty are currently tucked away in
several Moscow galleries.

Two of note include “Venera Sovietskaya”
(Soviet Venus) at the Worker and Collective Farm Woman exhibition centre and
the recently ended “BOYS” at the ZoomLab Studio. The exhibits explore female
and male beauty, respectively.

“Venera Sovietskaya” focuses on the
depiction of women in Soviet art, both in sculpture and in painting. One of the
more obvious parallels to draw from these “Venuses in shirts,” as they are
described by the gallery, is with the American cultural icon “Rosie the
Riveter.”

Rosie and her Soviet counterparts were
similarly encouraged to assume some of the more traditionally masculine roles.
However, one of the more notable differences between the American wartime
worker and her Russian sisters is how little of the feminine sexuality the
Soviet women have retained. While Rosie kept on her makeup and even had a
cheeky glint, the Soviet female icon almost disappeared into her boiler suit.

Some art experts have also attempted to
draw shape-based parallels between the Soviet women and their pre-revolutionary
predecessors, such as Boris Kustodiyev’s bright portraits of “Kupchikha”(The
Merchant’s Wife) and “Krasavitsa” (Beauty). Academics have even said in the
past that Russia has a national penchant for larger bodies, which has endured
despite the country’s gradual exposure to the Western ideas of ideal body
shape.

However, the post-revolutionary woman
assumed her shape through inherent strength and hard manual labour. Defined
muscle tone was clearly discernible. Conversely, the women in Kustodiyev’s
portraits are sedentary, surrounded by fruit and fine foods, and taking on the
cushiony appearance of the mattresses upon which they are reclining or the roundness
of the grapes they are eating. Wealth and luxury were clearly assets to the
beauty of the pre-revolutionary woman, whereas for the post-revolutionary woman
they were shunned.

The concept of male beauty in Russia is
also changing, as shown by Sasha Guseynova’s “BOYS” exhibit, which strays
heavily from the traditional understanding of male beauty. It is possible that
the absorption of ideas from the West can be held at least partially
responsible for this.

Guseynova, who has so far forged her path
through photographing mainly women, captured many of her “BOYS” on film in a
more typically female fashion, too. She said that the perceived beauty in
modern art and fashion is in conflict with popular Russian ideals of male
beauty.

“National consciousness is something that
was formed over decades. It says that a man must be brutal,” Guseynova said.
“Now fashion dictates completely different things, and our grandparents wonder
why boys are like girls, who wear things such as pink socks and colourful
trousers. That’s a conflict of fashion and the people’s consciousness. Just try
to convince them that it is OK and that you’re not gay. It’s crazy for them.”

Guseynova’s pictures keep an element of the
traditional male brutality, but with a twist. Guns and bullets are used by
models whose capacity to inflict actual damage seems questionable, and the
adoption of such accessories by introspective youths seems tinged with irony.

Some of Guseynova’s models in the more
dreamy portraits are very willowy, but most retain their more classical male
features, such as a strong jaw, sharp cheekbones and a muscular body. However,
the homoeroticism inherent in some is also undeniable, with one shirtless male
holding a gun against the forehead of his mirror image in intense rainbow lighting.

When questioned about how long men with
more effeminate features have been prominent in Russian culture, Guseynova said
that from time immemorial men have dressed as women, such as in the theatre,
yet this history does not make the modern-day femininity of men any more
acceptable to Russian traditionalists.

“Fashion changes and because of this, the
idea of beauty turns on its head every season,” she said. “The distortion is
not always successful. People in Russia will not be welcoming painted guys in
heels for a long time.”